Nr-unlicensed transmission opportunity structure with flexible starting point

ABSTRACT

New radio (NR) transmission opportunity (TxOP) structure having flexible starting points are disclosed for wireless communications. When a typical listen before talk (LBT) procedure is performed, the transmitting node will not know ahead of time when the LBT will pass and, thus, when data transmissions can start. NR systems may include a mini-slot design for accommodating transmission units smaller than a slot. Aspects of the present disclosure provide for flexibly increasing the number of potential starting transmission boundaries depending on when the LBT pass is detected. Alternative aspects of the present disclosure determine the potential starting transmission points using a mini-slot based design, a floating slot based design, or a punctured slot based design with a code block group (CBG) level retransmission mechanism.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/584,408, entitled, “NR-UNLICENSED TRANSMISSIONOPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE WITH FLEXIBLE STARTING POINT,” filed on Nov. 10,2017, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, new radio (NR)transmission opportunity (TxOP) structure having a flexible startingpoint.

Background

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-accessnetworks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the availablenetwork resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources. One example of such a network is theUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is theradio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UNITS), a third generation (3G) mobile phonetechnology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).Examples of multiple-access network formats include Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, OrthogonalFDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stationsor node Bs that can support communication for a number of userequipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via downlinkand uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communicationlink from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link)refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlinkto a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplinkfrom the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station mayencounter interference due to transmissions from neighbor base stationsor from other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink,a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplinktransmissions of other UEs communicating with the neighbor base stationsor from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degradeperformance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, thepossibilities of interference and congested networks grows with more UEsaccessing the long-range wireless communication networks and moreshort-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research anddevelopment continue to advance wireless technologies not only to meetthe growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance andenhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communicationincludes performing, by a base station, a listen before talk (LBT)procedure on a shared communication channel in response to an indicationof data available for transmission, detecting, by the base station,success of the LBT procedure in a current mini-slot after a current slotboundary of a current communication slot of the shared communicationchannel, pre-generating, by the base station, a plurality oftransmission packets of the data prior to detection of the success,wherein each of the plurality of transmission packets is associated withat least one corresponding mini-slot of the plurality of mini-slots ofthe current communication slot, and transmitting, by the base station,one or more of the plurality of transmission packets in the one or morenext mini-slots remaining in the current communication slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes monitoring, by a user equipment (UE), for acontrol resource set (CORESET) in each of a plurality of mini-slots ofeach communication slot of a shared communication channel, detecting, bythe UE, a beginning of a transmission opportunity of the sharedcommunication channel by a serving base station, and modifying, by theUE in response to detection of the beginning, the monitoring for theCORESET to the each communication slot of the transmission opportunity.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes performing, by a base station, a LBT procedure ona shared communication channel in response to an indication of dataavailable for transmission, detecting, by the base station, success ofthe LBT procedure, and transmitting, by the base station, the data inone or more transmission slots of a transmission opportunity beginningafter a predetermined boundary period from detection of the success,wherein a transmission opportunity slot boundary for at least one of theone or more transmission slots is independent of a system slot boundaryof the shared communication channel.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes monitoring, by a UE, for a CORESET in each of aplurality of mini-slots a shared communication channel during idletransmission times, detecting, by the UE, a beginning of a transmissionopportunity of the shared communication channel by a serving basestation, determining, by the UE, a transmission opportunity slot timingassociated with the transmission opportunity of the serving basestation, and modifying the monitoring, by the UE, for the CORESET ineach transmission slot of the transmissions opportunity according to thetransmission opportunity slot timing.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunications includes monitoring, by a non-served UE, for broadcasttransmissions between a base station and a served UE, determining, bythe non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of a transmission opportunitydetermined using the broadcast transmission detected via the monitoring,and adjusting, by the non-served UE, scheduled communications of thenon-served UE within the detected transmission opportunity of the basestation and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunications includes monitoring, by a non-served UE, for broadcasttransmissions between a base station and a served UE, determining, bythe non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of a transmission opportunitydetermined using the broadcast transmission detected via the monitoring,and adjusting, by the non-served UE, scheduled communications of thenon-served UE within the detected transmission opportunity of the basestation and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes detecting, by a UE, a beginning of a transmissionopportunity of a shared communication channel by a serving base station,decoding, by the UE, a transmission packet received from the servingbase station in a current transmission slot after the beginning,determining, by the UE, one or more code block groups (CBGs) have beenidentified for retransmission by the serving base station, decoding, bythe UE, one or more re-transmission packets including the one or moreCBGs, and assembling, by the UE, a transport block using the decodedtransmission packet and the one or more CBGs decoded in the one or moreretransmission packets.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for performing, by a base station,a LBT procedure on a shared communication channel in response to anindication of data available for transmission, means for detecting, bythe base station, success of the LBT procedure in a current mini-slotafter a current slot boundary of a current communication slot of theshared communication channel, means for pre-generating, by the basestation, a plurality of transmission packets of the data prior todetection of the success, wherein each of the plurality of transmissionpackets is associated with at least one corresponding mini-slot of theplurality of mini-slots of the current communication slot, and means fortransmitting, by the base station, one or more of the plurality oftransmission packets in the one or more next mini-slots remaining in thecurrent communication slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for monitoring, by a UE, for aCORESET in each of a plurality of mini-slots of each communication slotof a shared communication channel, detecting, by the UE, a beginning ofa transmission opportunity of the shared communication channel by aserving base station, and modifying, by the UE in response to detectionof the beginning, the means for monitoring for the CORESET to the eachcommunication slot of the transmission opportunity.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for performing, by a base station,a LBT procedure on a shared communication channel in response to anindication of data available for transmission, means for detecting, bythe base station, success of the LBT procedure, and means fortransmitting, by the base station, the data in one or more transmissionslots of a transmission opportunity beginning after a predeterminedboundary period from detection of the success, wherein a transmissionopportunity slot boundary for at least one of the one or moretransmission slots is independent of a system slot boundary of theshared communication channel.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for monitoring, by a UE, for aCORESET in each of a plurality of mini-slots a shared communicationchannel during idle transmission times, means for detecting, by the UE,a beginning of a transmission opportunity of the shared communicationchannel by a serving base station, means for determining, by the UE, atransmission opportunity slot timing associated with the transmissionopportunity of the serving base station, and means for modifying themeans for monitoring, by the UE, for the CORESET in each transmissionslot of the transmissions opportunity according to the transmissionopportunity slot timing.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for monitoring, by a non-servedUE, for broadcast transmissions between a base station and a served UE,means for determining, by the non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of atransmission opportunity determined using the broadcast transmissiondetected via the means for monitoring, and means for adjusting, by thenon-served UE, scheduled communications of the non-served UE within thedetected transmission opportunity of the base station and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for monitoring, by a non-servedUE, for broadcast transmissions between a base station and a served UE,means for determining, by the non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of atransmission opportunity determined using the broadcast transmissiondetected via execution of the means for monitoring, and means foradjusting, by the non-served UE, scheduled communications of thenon-served UE within the detected transmission opportunity of the basestation and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication includes means for detecting, by a UE, abeginning of a transmission opportunity of a shared communicationchannel by a serving base station, means for decoding, by the UE,transmission packet received from the serving base station in a currenttransmission slot after the beginning, means for determining, by the UE,one or more code block groups (CBGs) have been identified forretransmission by the serving base station, means for decoding, by theUE, one or more re-transmission packets including the one or more CBGs,and means for assembling, by the UE, a transport block using the decodedtransmission packet and the one or more CBGs decoded in the one or morere-transmission packets.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to perform, by a base station, a LBTprocedure on a shared communication channel in response to an indicationof data available for transmission, code to detect, by the base station,success of the LBT procedure in a current mini-slot after a current slotboundary of a current communication slot of the shared communicationchannel, code to pre-generate, by the base station, a plurality oftransmission packets of the data prior to detection of the success,wherein each of the plurality of transmission packets is associated withat least one corresponding mini-slot of the plurality of mini-slots ofthe current communication slot, and code to transmit, by the basestation, one or more of the plurality of transmission packets in the oneor more next mini-slots remaining in the current communication slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to monitor, by a UE, for a CORESET ineach of a plurality of mini-slots of each communication slot of a sharedcommunication channel, code to detect, by the UE, a beginning of atransmission opportunity of the shared communication channel by aserving base station, and code to modify, by the UE in response todetection of the beginning, execution of the code to monitor for theCORESET to the each communication slot of the transmission opportunity.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to perform, by a base station, a LBTprocedure on a shared communication channel in response to an indicationof data available for transmission, code to detect, by the base station,success of the LBT procedure, and code to transmit, by the base station,the data in one or more transmission slots of a transmission opportunitybeginning after a predetermined boundary period from detection of thesuccess, wherein a transmission opportunity slot boundary for at leastone of the one or more transmission slots is independent of a systemslot boundary of the shared communication channel.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to monitor, by a UE, for a CORESET ineach of a plurality of mini-slots a shared communication channel duringidle transmission times, code to detect, by the UE, a beginning of atransmission opportunity of the shared communication channel by aserving base station, code to determine, by the UE, a transmissionopportunity slot timing associated with the transmission opportunity ofthe serving base station, and code to modify execution of the code tomonitor, by the UE, for the CORESET in each transmission slot of thetransmissions opportunity according to the transmission opportunity slottiming.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to monitor, by a non-served UE, forbroadcast transmissions between a base station and a served UE, code todetermine, by the non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of atransmission opportunity determined using the broadcast transmissiondetected via execution of the code to monitor, and code to adjust, bythe non-served 11E, scheduled communications of the non-served UE withinthe detected transmission opportunity of the base station and the servedUE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to monitor, by a non-served UE, forbroadcast transmissions between a base station and a served UE, code todetermine, by the non-served UE, a slot boundary timing of atransmission opportunity determined using the broadcast transmissiondetected via execution of the code to monitor, and code to adjust, bythe non-served UE, scheduled communications of the non-served UE withinthe detected transmission opportunity of the base station and the servedUE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. Theprogram code further includes code to detect, by a UE, a beginning of atransmission opportunity of a shared communication channel by a servingbase station, code to decode, by the UE, a transmission packet receivedfrom the serving base station in a current transmission slot after thebeginning, code to determine, by the UE, one or more code block groups(CBGs) have been identified for retransmission by the serving basestation, code to decode, by the UE, one or more re-transmission packetsincluding the one or more CBGs, and code to assemble, by the UE, atransport block using the decoded transmission packet and the one ormore CBGs decoded in the one or more re-transmission packets.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to perform, by a base station, a LBT procedure on a sharedcommunication channel in response to an indication of data available fortransmission, to detect, by the base station, success of the LBTprocedure in a current mini-slot after a current slot boundary of acurrent communication slot of the shared communication channel, topre-generate, by the base station, a plurality of transmission packetsof the data prior to detection of the success, wherein each of theplurality of transmission packets is associated with at least onecorresponding mini-slot of the plurality of mini-slots of the currentcommunication slot, and to transmit, by the base station, one or more ofthe plurality of transmission packets in the one or more next mini-slotsremaining in the current communication slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to monitor, by a UE, for a CORESET in each of a plurality ofmini-slots of each communication slot of a shared communication channel,to detect, by the UE, a beginning of a transmission opportunity of theshared communication channel by a serving base station, and to modify,by the UE in response to detection of the beginning, execution of theconfiguration to monitor for the CORESET to the each communication slotof the transmission opportunity.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to perform, by a base station, a LBT procedure on a sharedcommunication channel in response to an indication of data available fortransmission, to detect, by the base station, success of the LBTprocedure, and to transmit, by the base station, the data in one or moretransmission slots of a transmission opportunity beginning after apredetermined boundary period from detection of the success, wherein atransmission opportunity slot boundary for at least one of the one ormore transmission slots is independent of a system slot boundary of theshared communication channel.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to monitor, by a UE, for a CORESET in each of a plurality ofmini-slots a shared communication channel during idle transmissiontimes, to detect, by the UE, a beginning of a transmission opportunityof the shared communication channel by a serving base station, todetermine, by the UE, a transmission opportunity slot timing associatedwith the transmission opportunity of the serving base station, and tomodify execution of the configuration to monitor, by the UE, for theCORESET in each transmission slot of the transmissions opportunityaccording to the transmission opportunity slot timing.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to monitor, by a non-served UE, for broadcast transmissionsbetween a base station and a served UE, to determine, by the non-servedUE, a slot boundary timing of a transmission opportunity determinedusing the broadcast transmission detected via execution of theconfiguration to monitor, and to adjust, by the non-served UE, scheduledcommunications of the non-served UE within the detected transmissionopportunity of the base station and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to monitor, by a non-served UE, for broadcast transmissionsbetween a base station and a served UE, to determine, by the non-servedUE, a slot boundary timing of a transmission opportunity determinedusing the broadcast transmission detected via execution of theconfiguration to monitor, and to adjust, by the non-served UE, scheduledcommunications of the non-served UE within the detected transmissionopportunity of the base station and the served UE.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured forwireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least oneprocessor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor isconfigured to detect, by a UE, a beginning of a transmission opportunityof a shared communication channel by a serving base station, to decode,by the UE, a transmission packet received from the serving base stationin a current transmission slot after the beginning, to determine, by theUE, one or more code block groups (CBGs) have been identified forretransmission by the serving base station, to decode, by the UE, one ormore re-transmission packets including the one or more CBGs, and toassemble, by the UE, a transport block using the decoded transmissionpacket and the one or more CBGs decoded in the one or morere-transmission packets.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method ofoperation, together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose ofillustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits ofthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentdisclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of a wirelesscommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a design of a base station and aUE configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless communication systemincluding base stations that use directional wireless beams.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredwith mini-slot based designs according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredwith a mini-slot based design according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredwith a floating slot based design according to aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are block diagrams illustrating a base station and UEconfigured according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are block diagrams illustrating example blocksexecuted by a base station to implement one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and a UEconfigured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating a base station and UE configuredaccording to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a base station configuredaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating a UE configured according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for thepurpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subjectmatter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thesespecific details are not required in every case and that, in someinstances, well-known structures and components are shown in blockdiagram form for clarity of presentation.

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating inauthorized shared access between two or more wireless communicationssystems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. Invarious embodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used forwireless communication networks such as code division multiple access(CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks,frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA(OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks,GSM networks, 5^(th) Generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, as wellas other communications networks. As described herein, the terms“networks” and “systems” may be used interchangeably.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and thelike. UTRA, E-UTRA, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Inparticular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that usesE-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documentsprovided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project”(3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organizationnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These variousradio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. Forexample, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is acollaboration between groups of telecommunications associations thataims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phonespecification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project whichwas aimed at improving the universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS) mobile phone standard. The 3GPP may define specifications for thenext generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices.The present disclosure is concerned with the evolution of wirelesstechnologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyond with shared access towireless spectrum between networks using a collection of new anddifferent radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

In particular, 5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diversespectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented usingan OFDM-based unified, air interface. In order to achieve these goals,further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition todevelopment of the new radio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NRwill be capable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internetof things (IoTs) with an ultra-high density (e.g., ˜1M nodes/km²),ultra-low complexity (e.g., ˜10 s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g.,˜10+ years of battery life), and deep coverage with the capability toreach challenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control withstrong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, orclassified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ˜99.9999%reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ˜1 ms), and users with wideranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobilebroadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ˜10 Tbps/km²), extremedata rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates),and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

The 5G NR may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveforms withscalable numerology and transmission time interval (TTI); having acommon, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services andfeatures with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex(TDD)/frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wirelesstechnologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO),robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding,and device-centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR,with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operatingdiverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. Forexample, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than3GHz FDD/TDD implementations, subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz,for example over 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth. For othervarious outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHzbandwidth. For other various indoor wideband implementations, using aTDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrierspacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHz bandwidth. Finally, forvarious deployments transmitting with mmWave components at a TDD of 28GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHz over a 500 MHz bandwidth.

The scalable numerology of the 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI fordiverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example,shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, whilelonger TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficientmultiplexing of long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start onsymbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integratedsubframe design with uplink/downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive uplink/downlink that may be flexiblyconfigured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink anddownlink to meet the current traffic needs.

Various other aspects and features of the disclosure are furtherdescribed below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may beembodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure,function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative andnot limiting. Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary level ofskill in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example,a method may be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus,and/or as instructions stored on a computer readable medium forexecution on a processor or computer. Furthermore, an aspect maycomprise at least one element of a claim.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating 5G network 100 including variousbase stations and UEs configured according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The 5G network 100 includes a number of base stations 105and other network entities. A base station may be a station thatcommunicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as an evolved nodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like.Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for aparticular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to thisparticular geographic coverage area of a base station and/or a basestation subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context inwhich the term is used.

A base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or asmall cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types ofcell. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area(e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted accessby UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A smallcell, such as a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smallergeographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a femtocell, would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area(e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also providerestricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell(e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in thehome, and the like). A base station for a macro cell may be referred toas a macro base station. A base station for a small cell may be referredto as a small cell base station, a pico base station, a femto basestation or a home base station. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the basestations 105 d and 105 e are regular macro base stations, while basestations 105 a-105 c are macro base stations enabled with one of 3dimension (3D), full dimension (FD), or massive MIMO. Base stations 105a-105 c take advantage of their higher dimension MIMO capabilities toexploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming toincrease coverage and capacity. Base station 105 f is a small cell basestation which may be a home node or portable access point. A basestation may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and thelike) cells.

The 5G network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation.For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frametiming, and transmissions from different base stations may beapproximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the basestations may have different frame timing, and transmissions fromdifferent base stations may not be aligned in time.

The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as aterminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like. AUE may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless localloop (WLL) station, or the like. In one aspect, a UE may be a devicethat includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In anotheraspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In someaspects, UEs that do not include UICCs may also be referred to asinternet of everything (IoE) devices. UEs 115 a-115 d are examples ofmobile smart phone-type devices accessing 5G network 100 A UE may alsobe a machine specifically configured for connected communication,including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC),narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. UEs 115 e-115 k are examples ofvarious machines configured for communication that access 5G network100. A UE may be able to communicate with any type of the base stations,whether macro base station, small cell, or the like. In FIG. 1, alightning bolt (e.g., communication links) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE and a serving base station, which is a basestation designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink, ordesired transmission between base stations, and backhaul transmissionsbetween base stations.

In operation at 5G network 100, base stations 105 a-105 c serve UEs 115a and 115 b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques,such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. Macro basestation 105 d performs backhaul communications with base stations 105a-105 c, as well as small cell, base station 105 f. Macro base station105 d also transmits multicast services which are subscribed to andreceived by UEs 115 c and 115 d. Such multicast services may includemobile television or stream video, or may include other services forproviding community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts,such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.

5G network 100 also support mission critical communications withultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such UE115 e, which is a drone. Redundant communication links with UE 115 einclude from macro base stations 105 d and 105 e, as well as small cellbase station 105 f. Other machine type devices, such as UE 115 f(thermometer), UE 115 g (smart meter), and UE 115 h (wearable device)may communicate through 5G network 100 either directly with basestations, such as small cell base station 105 f, and macro base station105 e, or in multi-hop configurations by communicating with another userdevice which relays its information to the network, such as UE 115 fcommunicating temperature measurement information to the smart meter, UE115 g, which is then reported to the network through small cell basestation 105 f. 5G network 100 may also provide additional networkefficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications, such asin a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between UEs 115 i-115 kcommunicating with macro base station 105 e.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a design of a base station 105 and a UE115, which may be one of the base station and one of the UEs in FIG. 1.At the base station 105, a transmit processor 220 may receive data froma data source 212 and control information from a controller/processor240. The control information may be for the PBCH, PCFICH, PHICH, PDCCH,EPDCCH, MPDCCH etc. The data may be for the PDSCH, etc. The transmitprocessor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data andcontrol information to obtain data symbols and control symbols,respectively. The transmit processor 220 may also generate referencesymbols, e.g., for the PSS, SSS, and cell-specific reference signal. Atransmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 mayperform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, thecontrol symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and mayprovide output symbol streams to the modulators (MODs) 232 a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream(e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, andupconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal.Downlink signals from modulators 232 a through 232 t may be transmittedvia the antennas 234 a through 234 t, respectively.

At the UE 115, the antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlinksignals from the base station 105 and may provide received signals tothe demodulators (DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r, respectively. Eachdemodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, anddigitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Eachdemodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM,etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtainreceived symbols from all the demodulators 254 a through 254 r, performMIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and providedetected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate,deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data forthe UE 115 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control informationto a controller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at the UE 115, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data (e.g., for the PUSCH) from a data source 262 and controlinformation (e.g., for the PUCCH) from the controller/processor 280. Thetransmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for areference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may beprecoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed bythe modulators 254 a through 254 r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), andtransmitted to the base station 105. At the base station 105, the uplinksignals from the UE 115 may be received by the antennas 234, processedby the demodulators 232, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable,and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded dataand control information sent by the UE 115. The processor 238 mayprovide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded controlinformation to the controller/processor 240.

The controllers/processors 240 and 280 may direct the operation at thebase station 105 and the UE 115, respectively. The controller/processor240 and/or other processors and modules at the base station 105 mayperform or direct the execution of various processes for the techniquesdescribed herein. The controllers/processor 280 and/or other processorsand modules at the UE 115 may also perform or direct the execution ofthe functional blocks illustrated in FIGS. 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 18A, and18B, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein. Thememories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the basestation 105 and the UE 115, respectively. A scheduler 244 may scheduleUEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

Wireless communications systems operated by different network operatingentities (e.g., network operators) may share spectrum. In someinstances, a network operating entity may be configured to use anentirety of a designated shared spectrum for at least a period of timebefore another network operating entity uses the entirety of thedesignated shared spectrum for a different period of time. Thus, inorder to allow network operating entities use of the full designatedshared spectrum, and in order to mitigate interfering communicationsbetween the different network operating entities, certain resources(e.g., time) may be partitioned and allocated to the different networkoperating entities for certain types of communication.

For example, a network operating entity may be allocated certain timeresources reserved for exclusive communication by the network operatingentity using the entirety of the shared spectrum. The network operatingentity may also be allocated other time resources where the entity isgiven priority over other network operating entities to communicateusing the shared spectrum. These time resources, prioritized for use bythe network operating entity, may be utilized by other network operatingentities on an opportunistic basis if the prioritized network operatingentity does not utilize the resources. Additional time resources may beallocated for any network operator to use on an opportunistic basis.

Access to the shared spectrum and the arbitration of time resourcesamong different network operating entities may be centrally controlledby a separate entity, autonomously determined by a predefinedarbitration scheme, or dynamically determined based on interactionsbetween wireless nodes of the network operators.

In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may operate in a shared radiofrequency spectrum band, which may include licensed or unlicensed (e.g.,contention-based) frequency spectrum. In an unlicensed frequency portionof the shared radio frequency spectrum band, UEs 115 or base stations105 may traditionally perform a medium-sensing procedure to contend foraccess to the frequency spectrum. For example, UE 115 or base station105 may perform a listen before talk (LBT) procedure such as a clearchannel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determinewhether the shared channel is available. A CCA may include an energydetection procedure to determine whether there are any other activetransmissions. For example, a device may infer that a change in areceived signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicatesthat a channel is occupied. Specifically, signal power that isconcentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeds a predetermined noisefloor may indicate another wireless transmitter. A CCA also may includedetection of specific sequences that indicate use of the channel. Forexample, another device may transmit a specific preamble prior totransmitting a data sequence. In some cases, an LBT procedure mayinclude a wireless node adjusting its own backoff window based on theamount of energy detected on a channel and/or theacknowledge/negative-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) feedback for its owntransmitted packets as a proxy for collisions.

Use of a medium-sensing procedure to contend for access to an unlicensedshared spectrum may result in communication inefficiencies. This may beparticularly evident when multiple network operating entities (e.g.,network operators) are attempting to access a shared resource. In 5Gnetwork 100, base stations 105 and UEs 115 may be operated by the sameor different network operating entities. In some examples, an individualbase station 105 or UE 115 may be operated by more than one networkoperating entity. In other examples, each base station 105 and UE 115may be operated by a single network operating entity. Requiring eachbase station 105 and UE 115 of different network operating entities tocontend for shared resources may result in increased signaling overheadand communication latency.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a timing diagram 300 for coordinatedresource partitioning. The timing diagram 300 includes a superframe 305,which may represent a fixed duration of time (e.g., 20 ms). Superframe305 may be repeated for a given communication session and may be used bya wireless system such as 5G network 100 described with reference toFIG. 1. The superframe 305 may be divided into intervals such as anacquisition interval (A-INT) 310 and an arbitration interval 315. Asdescribed in more detail below, the A-INT 310 and arbitration interval315 may be subdivided into sub-intervals, designated for certainresource types, and allocated to different network operating entities tofacilitate coordinated communications between the different networkoperating entities. For example, the arbitration interval 315 may bedivided into a plurality of sub-intervals 320. Also, the superframe 305may be further divided into a plurality of subframes 325 with a fixedduration (e.g., 1 ms). While timing diagram 300 illustrates threedifferent network operating entities (e.g., Operator A, Operator B,Operator C), the number of network operating entities using thesuperframe 305 for coordinated communications may be greater than orfewer than the number illustrated in timing diagram 300.

The A-INT 310 may be a dedicated interval of the superframe 305 that isreserved for exclusive communications by the network operating entities,in some examples, each network operating entity may be allocated certainresources within the A-INT 310 for exclusive communications. Forexample, resources 330-a may be reserved for exclusive communications byOperator A, such as through base station 105 a, resources 330-b may bereserved for exclusive communications by Operator B, such as throughbase station 105 b, and resources 330-c may be reserved for exclusivecommunications by Operator C, such as through base station 105 c. Sincethe resources 330-a are reserved for exclusive communications byOperator A, neither Operator B nor Operator C can communicate duringresources 330-a, even if Operator A chooses not to communicate duringthose resources. That is, access to exclusive resources is limited tothe designated network operator. Similar restrictions apply to resources330-b for Operator B and resources 330-c for Operator C. The wirelessnodes of Operator A (e.g, UEs 115 or base stations 105) may communicateany information desired during their exclusive resources 330-a, such ascontrol information or data.

When communicating over an exclusive resource, a network operatingentity does not need to perform any medium sensing procedures (e.g.,listen-before-talk (LBT) or clear channel assessment (CCA)) because thenetwork operating entity knows that the resources are reserved. Becauseonly the designated network operating entity may communicate overexclusive resources, there may be a reduced likelihood of interferingcommunications as compared to relying on medium sensing techniques alone(e.g., no hidden node problem). In some examples, the A-INT 310 is usedto transmit control information, such as synchronization signals (e.g.,SYNC signals), system information (e.g., system information blocks(SIBs)), paging information (e.g., physical broadcast channel (PBCH)messages), or random access information (e.g., random access channel(RACH) signals). In some examples, all of the wireless nodes associatedwith a network operating entity may transmit at the same time duringtheir exclusive resources.

In some examples, resources may be classified as prioritized for certainnetwork operating entities. Resources that are assigned with priorityfor a certain network operating entity may be referred to as aguaranteed interval (G-INT) for that network operating entity. Theinterval of resources used by the network operating entity during theG-INT may be referred to as a prioritized sub-interval. For example,resources 335-a may be prioritized for use by Operator A and maytherefore be referred to as a G-INT for Operator A (e.g., G-INT-OpA).Similarly, resources 335-b may be prioritized for Operator B, resources335-c may be prioritized for Operator C, resources 335-d may beprioritized for Operator A, resources 335-e may be prioritized forOperator B, and resources 335-f may be prioritized for operator C.

The various G-INT resources illustrated in FIG. 3 appear to be staggeredto illustrate their association with their respective network operatingentities, but these resources may all be on the same frequencybandwidth. Thus, if viewed along a time-frequency grid, the G-INTresources may appear as a contiguous line within the superframe 305.This partitioning of data may be an example of time divisionmultiplexing (TDM). Also, when resources appear in the same sub-interval(e.g., resources 340-a and resources 335-b), these resources representthe same time resources with respect to the superframe 305 (e.g., theresources occupy the same sub-interval 320), but the resources areseparately designated to illustrate that the same time resources can beclassified differently for different operators.

When resources are assigned with priority for a certain networkoperating entity (e.g., a G-INT), that network operating entity maycommunicate using those resources without having to wait or perform anymedium sensing procedures (e.g., LBT or CCA). For example, the wirelessnodes of Operator A are free to communicate any data or controlinformation during resources 335-a without interference from thewireless nodes of Operator B or Operator C.

A network operating entity may additionally signal to another operatorthat it intends to use a particular G-INT. For example, referring toresources 335-a, Operator A may signal to Operator B and Operator C thatit intends to use resources 335-a. Such signaling may be referred to asan activity indication. Moreover, since Operator A has priority overresources 335-a, Operator A may be considered as a higher priorityoperator than both Operator B and Operator C. However, as discussedabove, Operator A does not have to send signaling to the other networkoperating entities to ensure interference-free transmission duringresources 335-a because the resources 335-a are assigned with priorityto Operator A.

Similarly, a network operating entity may signal to another networkoperating entity that it intends not to use a particular G-INT. Thissignaling may also be referred to as an activity indication. Forexample, referring to resources 335-b, Operator B may signal to OperatorA and Operator C that it intends not to use the resources 335-b forcommunication, even though the resources are assigned with priority toOperator B. With reference to resources 335-b, Operator B may beconsidered a higher priority network operating entity than Operator Aand Operator C. In such cases, Operators A and C may attempt to useresources of sub-interval 320 on an opportunistic basis. Thus, from theperspective of Operator A, the sub-interval 320 that contains resources335-b may be considered an opportunistic interval (O-INT) for Operator A(e.g., O-INT-OpA). For illustrative purposes, resources 340-a mayrepresent the O-INT for Operator A. Also, from the perspective ofOperator C, the same sub-interval 320 may represent an O-INT forOperator C with corresponding resources 340-b. Resources 340-a, 335-b,and 340-b all represent the same time resources (e.g., a particularsub-interval 320), but are identified separately to signify that thesame resources may be considered as a G-INT for some network operatingentities and yet as an O-INT for others.

To utilize resources on an opportunistic basis, Operator A and OperatorC may perform medium-sensing procedures to check for communications on aparticular channel before transmitting data. For example, if Operator Bdecides not to use resources 335-b (e.g., G-INT-OpB), then Operator Amay use those same resources (e.g., represented by resources 340-a) byfirst checking the channel for interference (e.g., LBT) and thentransmitting data if the channel was determined to be clear. Similarly,if Operator C wanted to access resources on an opportunistic basisduring sub-interval 320 (e.g., use an O-INT represented by resources340-b) in response to an indication that Operator B was not going to useits G-INT, Operator C may perform a medium sensing procedure and accessthe resources if available. In some cases, two operators (e.g., OperatorA and Operator C) may attempt to access the same resources, in whichcase the operators may employ contention-based procedures to avoidinterfering communications. The operators may also have sub-prioritiesassigned to them designed to determine which operator may gain access toresources if more than operator is attempting access simultaneously.

In some examples, a network operating entity may intend not to use aparticular G-INT assigned to it, but may not send out an activityindication that conveys the intent not to use the resources. In suchcases, for a particular sub-interval 320, lower priority operatingentities may be configured to monitor the channel to determine whether ahigher priority operating entity is using the resources. If a lowerpriority operating entity determines through LBT or similar method thata higher priority operating entity is not going to use its G-INTresources, then the lower priority operating entities may attempt toaccess the resources on an opportunistic basis as described above.

In some examples, access to a G-INT or O-INT may be preceded by areservation signal (e.g., request-to-send (RTS)/clear-to-send (CTS)),and the contention window (CW) may be randomly chosen between one andthe total number of operating entities.

In some examples, an operating entity may employ or be compatible withcoordinated multipoint (CoMP) communications. For example an operatingentity may employ CoMP and dynamic time division duplex (TDD) in a G-INTand opportunistic CoMP in an O-INT as needed.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, each sub-interval 320 includes aG-INT for one of Operator A, B, or C. However, in some cases, one ormore sub-intervals 320 may include resources that are neither reservedfor exclusive use nor reserved for prioritized use (e.g., unassignedresources). Such unassigned resources may be considered an O-INT for anynetwork operating entity, and may be accessed on an opportunistic basisas described above.

In some examples, each subframe 325 may contain 14 symbols (e.g., 250-μsfor 60 kHz tone spacing). These subframes 325 may be standalone,self-contained Interval-Cs (ITCs) or the subframes 325 may be a part ofa long ITC. An ITC may be a self-contained transmission starting with adownlink transmission and ending with a uplink transmission. In someembodiments, an ITC may contain one or more subframes 325 operatingcontiguously upon medium occupation. In some cases, there may be amaximum of eight network operators in an A-INT 310 (e.g., with durationof 2 ms) assuming a 250-μs transmission opportunity.

Although three operators are illustrated in FIG. 3, it should beunderstood that fewer or more network operating entities may beconfigured to operate in a coordinated manner as described above. Insome cases, the location of the G-INT, O-INT, or A-INT within superframe305 for each operator is determined autonomously based on the number ofnetwork operating entities active in a system. For example, if there isonly one network operating entity, each sub-interval 320 may be occupiedby a G-INT for that single network operating entity, or thesub-intervals 320 may alternate between G-INTs for that networkoperating entity and O-INTs to allow other network operating entities toenter. If there are two network operating entities, the sub-intervals320 may alternate between G-INTs for the first network operating entityand G-INTs for the second network operating entity. If there are threenetwork operating entities, the G-INT and O-INTs for each networkoperating entity may be designed as illustrated in FIG. 3. If there arefour network operating entities, the first four sub-intervals 320 mayinclude consecutive G-INTs for the four network operating entities andthe remaining two sub-intervals 320 may contain O-INTs. Similarly, ifthere are five network operating entities, the first five sub-intervals320 may contain consecutive G-INTs for the five network operatingentities and the remaining sub-interval 320 may contain an O-INT. Ifthere are six network operating entities, all six sub-intervals 320 mayinclude consecutive G-INTs for each network operating entity, it shouldbe understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only andthat other autonomously determined interval allocations may be used.

It should be understood that the coordination framework described withreference to FIG. 3 is for illustration purposes only. For example, theduration of superframe 305 may be more or less than 20 ms. Also, thenumber, duration, and location of sub-intervals 320 and subframes 325may differ from the configuration illustrated. Also, the types ofresource designations (e.g., exclusive, prioritized, unassigned) maydiffer or include more or less sub-designations.

Within the 5G systems, the LBT procedure may be used to sense channeluse prior to transmitting on a shared communication channel. In general,an LBT procedure provides for the transmitting node to perform a CCAcheck to evaluate the presence or absence of other signals on the sharedchannel. Such CCA checks may use at least an energy detection process todetermine if interference detected on the shared channel rises to alevel to be considered an actual signal using the channel. Fourcategories of LBT procedure have been discussed for use in 5G systems.The first category of LBT (Cat-1 LBT) provides no LBT at all. In suchCat-1 LBT circumstances, the transmitter would simply begin to transmit.The second category of LBT (Cat-2 LBT) provides for performing an LBT,such as through a CCA, only without a random back-off or contentionwindow. Such, shortened Cat-2 LBTs result in a quick check of thechannel prior to beginning transmissions. The Cat-2 LBT may also bereferred to as the 25 μs LBT. The third category of LBT (Cat-3) providesfor performing an LBT procedure with both a random back-off value and afixed contention window. The fourth category of LBT (Cat-4) provides forperforming an LBT procedure with both a random back-off value and avariable contention window. In both Cat-3 and Cat-4 LBT, the transmitterselects a random number for the back-off value and performs the LBT orCCA check when the random back-off has passed. However, in Cat-3 thecontention window size is fixed, while it is variable in Cat-4.

When a Cat-4 LBT is used, the transmitter would not know ahead of timewhen the LBT will pass and, thus, when the data transmission can start.When the LBT does, in fact, pass, consideration has been given to whenthe transmitter may begin the data transmissions. In LTE-furtherenhanced license assisted access (feLAA), the start of the transmissionmay be aligned to the slot boundary (e.g., 0.5 ms resolution). Theincrease in the number of transmit starting times has been suggested,but, due to the structural limitations of LTE networks, have not beensuccessfully adopted. One such suggestion has been to use the LTE shorttransmission time interval (sTTI) structure to implement more startingpoints. The new radio (NR) technology in 5G networks includes amini-slot design that may be more friendly to increased start times, atleast in unlicensed spectrum. Discussions have provided a prioritizationfor NR mini-slot lengths of 2, 4, and 7 symbols.

The various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providingadditional transmission start times for contention-based transmissionover a shared communication channel. The alternative aspects describedherein may provide for a mini-slot based transmission start time design,a floating slot based transmission start time design, and a puncturedslot based transmission start time design that includes code block group(CBG)-level retransmission.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks willalso be described with respect to base station 105 as illustrated inFIG. 22. FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Basestation 105 includes the structure, hardware, and components asillustrated for Base station 105 of FIG. 2. For example, base station105 includes controller/processor 240, which operates to execute logicor computer instructions stored in memory 242, as well as controllingthe components of base station 105 that provide the features andfunctionality of base station 105. Base station 105, under control ofcontroller/processor 240, transmits and receives signals via wirelessradios 2200 a-t and antennas 234 a-t. Wireless radios 2200 a-t includesvarious components and hardware, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for basestation 105, including modulator/demodulators 232 a-t, MIMO detector236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and TX MIMOprocessor 230.

At block 400, a base station performs an LBT procedure on a sharedcommunication channel in response to an indication of data available fortransmission. As a base station, such as base station 105, obtains datafor transmission to one of its served UEs, the base station will betriggered for downlink communications. Base station 105, under controlof controller/processor 240, executes LBT logic 2201, stored in memory242. The execution environment of LBT logic 2201, allows for basestation 105 to perform an LBT procedure, such as a clear channelassessment (CCA) check by monitoring for signal energies on the sharedchannel via antennas 234 a-t and wireless radios 2200 a-t.

At block 401, the base station detects success of the LBT procedure in acurrent mini-slot after a current slot boundary of a currentcommunication slot of the shared communication channel. For example,base station 105 detects signal energy via antennas 234 a-t and wirelessradios 2200 a-t to determine that no signals are present on the sharedchannel that rise to an energy level that would indicate the channelalready being occupied. The transmission stream for the nodescommunicating according to the example aspect of FIG. 4 is divided intotransmission slots. The transmission slots are further divided intomini-slots. A transmission opportunity (TxOP) for the transmitter mayincorporate multiple transmission slots between both downlink and uplinktransmissions. With the mini-slot based design of thecurrently-described example aspect, normal transmission follows thetransmission slot boundary. The mini-slots are used to filltransmissions for the TxOP when the LBT passes between transmission slotboundaries. In order to accommodate the time between detecting thesuccessful LBT and transmission of the downlink data, a channelreservation signal or filler signal may be used to occupy the sharedcommunication channel for any remaining time before the next mini-slotboundary.

It should be noted that use of the NR mini-slot in such a manner issimilar in design to use of the sTTI design in feLAA systems.

At block 402, the base station pre-generates a plurality of transmissionpackets prior to detection of the success, wherein each of the pluralityof transmission packets is associated with at least one correspondingmini-slot of the plurality of mini-slots of the current communicationslot. The amount of time between the success of the LBT being detectedand the beginning of the next mini-slot may not be sufficient to allowbase station 105 to process the downlink communications (e.g., PDSCH).For example, in order to generate the PDSCH, base station 105 would formthe packet, encode the packet, etc. Additionally, there may be time usedto transmit channel reservation signals, but that signal may be shortfor less overhead. Accordingly, unlike the sTTI design in feLAA systems,aspects of the present disclosure provide for base station 105 toexecute, under control of controller/processor 240, packet generator2202, stored in memory 242, to pre-generate multiple transmissionpackets after initiation of the LBT, but prior to detecting its success.

Such an aspect would involve generating multiple slots/mini-slots withthe same or different data. The complexity may increase whenretransmissions are involved. Rate matching of the pre-generated packetsmay be relatively straight-forward, as the base station would know whatto rate match around for each mini-slot and slot. Moreover, the datapackets may be pre-rate matched, as preparing the PDSCH using preparedslot and mini-slot packets is known. The number of data packets topre-prepare may depend on how fast the base station can generate apacket. If a longer time is needed by a base station, more mini-slotscan be pre-prepared. As such, when the LBT pass is detected, there willbe packets ready to transmit at the next mini-slot boundary, even wherethe amount of time between LBT pass and the next mini-slot boundary isvery small.

At block 403, the base station transmits one or more of the plurality oftransmission packets in the one or more next mini-slots remaining in thecurrent communication slot. Of the multiple, pre-generated mini-slotsworth of PDSCH, some of the transmission packets can be dropped fromeach mini-slot, and filled with filler signaling, when the LBT does notpass during that particular mini-slot. The execution environment of LBTlogic 2201 maintains identification of the mini-slots passed during themonitoring for the success of the LBT. Base station 105, under controlof controller/processor 240 would cause the corresponding packets of thepassed mini-slots to be dropped from the transmission of the remainingpre-generated packets via wireless radios 2200 a-t and antennas 234 a-t.For example, in an example system that has four mini-slots per slot,base station 105 may prepare four or more mini-slots' worth of datapackets. However, if base station 105 detects LBT pass only in themiddle of the third mini-slot, it may drop the first three pre-prepareddata packets, use the channel reservation or filler signals for theremainder of the third mini-slot, and then begin downlink transmissionswith the fourth mini-slot using the pre-prepared packet for the fourthmini-slot.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured with mini-slot based designs according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure. Base station 105 a and UE 115 a are configured witha mini-slot based design for transmission starts over a sharecommunication channel. In the middle of a mini-slot 500, base station105 a detects the successful LBT at 501. Thus, TxOP 50 begins at 501.Base station 105 a responds to the LBT pass by immediately transmittingchannel occupancy or filler signals until the beginning of the nextmini-slot at 502. Base station 105 a then transmits DL mini-slot 0 andDL mini-slot 1. At the next system slot boundary, 503, base station 105a transmits two full length slots, DL slot 0 and DL slot 1. Base station105 a finishes out its downlink transmissions for TxOP 50 using anothermini-slot transmission at 504 of DL mini-slot 2.

On the uplink side, after a gap period, UE 115 a performs an LBT, whichis detected as successful at 505. UE 115 a also needs time to processand prepare PUSCH (forming packet, encoding, etc.). It may not becapable of PUSCH preparation fast enough to wait until detecting the LBTpass. As with the downlink side, there may be channel reservationsignals to transmit, but those signals may be relatively short tomaintain lower overhead. Compared with the PDSCH preparation process, UE115 a cannot pre-prepare multiple copies of PUSCH because the content ofPUSCH is generally controlled by base station 105 (e.g., transport blocksize (TBS), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, redundancyversion identifier (RVID), new data indicator (NDI), etc). Currently, inLTE, the LAA and MuLTEfire (MF) designs use a puncture-based (feLAA mode1 uplink) for such PUSCH preparation. In such a design, the UE wouldprepare the PUSCH for the full subframe transmission, but puncture thefirst slot if the LBT does not pass before the first slot, slot 0. Aknown issue with this approach is that the punctured PUSCH may have alow chance of being decoded. Moreover, in NR systems, due to frequencyfirst mapping procedure, the chances of successfully decoding such apunctured PUSCH may be even lower.

The aspects of the present disclosure illustrated in FIG. 5 provide forbase station 105 a to grant a sequence of mini-slots/slots at thebeginning of the uplink burst. For example, when base station 105 asends the uplink grant for uplink burst 51, it grants the sequence ofmini-slot 508, UL mini-slots 0 and 1, and UL slots 0 and 1. When theuplink LBT pass is detected at 505, UE 115 a drops any packets formini-slot 508, transmits PUSCH in UL mini-slots 0 and 1 before the nextsystem slot boundary 506, and transmits PUSCH in UL slots 0 and 1, untilthe end of the TxOP at 507.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks willalso be described with respect to UE 115 as illustrated in FIG. 23. FIG.23 is a block diagram illustrating UE 115 configured according to oneaspect of the present disclosure. UE 115 includes the structure,hardware, and components as illustrated for UE 115 of FIG. 2. Forexample, UE 115 includes controller/processor 280, which operates toexecute logic or computer instructions stored in memory 282, as well ascontrolling the components of UE 115 that provide the features andfunctionality of UE 115. UE 115, under control of controller/processor280, transmits and receives signals via wireless radios 2300 a-r andantennas 252 a-r. Wireless radios 2300 a-r includes various componentsand hardware, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for UE 115, includingmodulator/demodulators 254 a-r, MIMO detector 256, receive processor258, transmit processor 264, and TX MIMO processor 266.

At block 600, a UE monitors for a control resource set (Coreset) in eachof a plurality of mini-slots of each communication slot of a sharedcommunication channel. A UE, such as UE 115, executes, under control ofcontroller/processor 280, Coreset monitoring function 2301, stored inmemory 282. The execution environment of Coreset monitoring function2301 allows for UE 115 to identify Coreset transmissions in signalsdetected via antennas 252 a-r and wireless radios 2300 a-r. Because ofthe increased number of potential transmission starts resulting from theuse of the mini-slot based design, there is potential that a Coreset maybe transmitted by the base station at each mini-slot and slot.Accordingly, the described aspect of the present disclosure provides foradditional, more frequency monitoring for the Coreset by UE 115.

At block 601, the UE detects a beginning of a transmission opportunityof the shared communication channel by a serving base station. Assignals are detected via antennas 252 a-r and wireless radios 2300 a-r,UE 115 executes, under control of controller/processor 280,coding/decoding logic 2302 to decode the signals. The decoded signalsmay then be used accordingly. Coding/decoding logic 2302 may, thus,decode detected signals and determine such signals correspond to theinitial transmission from a serving base station. UE 115 may, thus,determine the beginning of the TxOP based on the decoded signalsreceived. Therefore, prior to beginning of a TxOP, each potentialtransmission starting point could conceivably include transmission ofCoreset information. UE 115 monitors for beginning of such a TxOP.

At block 602, the UE modifies, in response to detection of thebeginning, the monitoring for the Coreset to the each communication slotof the transmission opportunity. When the TxOP begins, Coresetinformation could be transmitted at each transmission unit (e.g., eachmini-slot or slot). Thus, monitoring each mini-slot and slot after thebeginning of a TxOP would be unnecessary. As such, when UE 115 detectsthe beginning of the TxOP in block 505, it may then modify Coresetmonitoring function 2301 to modify the monitoring to each communicationslot (e.g., mini-slot or slot) of the TxOP.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured with a mini-slot based design according to aspects of thepresent disclosure. As noted above with respect to FIG. 6, during idletimes, UE 115 a may wake up to monitor for coreset transmissions at eachpotential transmission unit. Here, each transmission unit includes allmini-slots and the system or transmission slot boundaries. A mini-slotcoreset 700 may be transmitted by base station 105 a at each mini-slotboundary, while a slot coreset 701 may be transmitted by base station105 a at each system slot boundary. At 702, base station 105 a detectsthe LBT pass and begins transmitting filler signals to occupy the sharedcommunication channel. UE 115 a may recognize this as the beginning ofthe transmission opportunity. At that point, UE 115 a modifies thefrequency with which it monitors for coreset transmissions. Because UE115 a is configured for mini-slot operations, it will monitor formini-slot coresets 700 at both of mini-slot 0 and 1, and then onlymonitor for slot coresets 701 at the next system slot boundaries, 703and 704. During the transmission opportunity, UE 115 a would notcontinue monitoring for every mini-slot.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks willalso be described with respect to base station 105 as illustrated inFIG. 22. An alternative to the mini-slot based design for transmissionstarting points, various aspects of the present disclosure provide for afloating slot based design.

At block 800, a base station performs an LBT procedure on a sharedcommunication channel in response to an indication of data available fortransmission. Base station 105 will attempt to secure access to theshared communication channel using an LBT procedure, initiated byexecution of LBT logic 2201, when it has data for transmission to one ormore of its served UEs.

At block 801, the base station detects success of the LBT procedure. Thebase station may not begin transmissions until the LBT procedure hasbeen determined successful. Accordingly, base station 105, within theexecution environment of LBT logic 2201, will monitor for success of theLBT.

At block 802, the base station transmits the data in one or moretransmission slots of a transmission opportunity beginning after apredetermined boundary period from detection of the success, wherein atransmission opportunity slot boundary for at least one of thetransmission slots is independent of a system slot boundary of theshared communication channel. According to the floating slot baseddesign, when base station detects 105 the LBT pass, it beginstransmission via wireless radios 2200 a-t and antennas 234 a-t inregular slot lengths using a transmission slot boundary in relation tothe LBT pass detection that is independent of the system slot boundary.Base station 105 maintains the system slot information at system slottiming 2204, in memory 242, and, after beginning the TxOP will establishthe transmission slot boundary and stored the transmission timing attransmission slot timing 2204, in memory 242. Therefore, transmissionsoccur according to a TxOP-based slot.

In the floating slot based design, the TxOP has no fixed system slotboundary, but defines a transmission slot boundary. The transmissionslot boundary can occur over various time frames, such as 1-slot,2-symbols, 7-symbol, etc. The base station may transmit a filler,reservation, or occupation signal between detecting the LBT pass and thenext transmission slot boundary. The denser or more frequency thetransmission slot boundaries, the less filler, signal would betransmitted. The TxOP transmissions are made in slot units starting fromthe transmission slot boundary where the TxOP starts. For uplinktransmission, the floating slot boundary may not be practical when thereare multiple UEs being served. For example, on the uplink side, anuplink transmission slot boundary would depend on the UE side LBT passtiming. This timing will not necessarily align with the downlinktransmission slot boundary. Moreover, different UEs may have differentuplink transmissions slot boundaries, which will make processing andoverhead much more complex.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured with a floating slot based design according to aspects of thepresent disclosure. As base station 105 a identifies data for downlinktransmission to UE 115 a, it begins an LBT procedure to secure access tothe shared communication channel. The transmissions over the sharedcommunication channel are divided into slots and mini-slots. Inmini-slot 900, base station 105 a detects the successful LBT at 901 andbegins transmitting filler signals. Once the filler signals aretransmitted, base station 105 a may begin slot transmissions attransmission slot boundary 902. From Transmission slot boundary 902,base station 105 a may perform downlink transmissions using a slottransmission unit based on transmission slot boundary. This slottransmission is independent from a system slot boundary or timing.

After completion of DL slot 2 at 903, UE 115 a may perform an LBTprocedure for its uplink transmissions. With a single UE being served,UE 115 a may also use a floating slot based design. At 905, UE 115 adetects the LBT pass in the middle of mini-slot 904. After transmissionof filler signaling, it also may begin its uplink transmission at uplinktransmission slot boundary 906. The timing of uplink transmission slotboundary 906 is independent of both the system slot boundary and thedownlink timing of transmission slot boundary 902.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks willalso be described with respect to UE 115 as illustrated in FIG. 23.

At block 1000, a UE monitors for a coreset in each of a plurality ofmini-slots of a shared communication channel during idle transmissiontimes. UE 115 executes, under control of controller/processor 280,Coreset monitoring function 2301, stored in memory 282. The executionenvironment of Coreset monitoring function 2301 allows for UE 115 toidentify Coreset transmissions in signals detected via antennas 252 a-rand wireless radios 2300 a-r. During idle mode times, UE 115 willmonitor for such Coreset transmissions in each mini-slot of the sharedchannel.

At block 1001, the UE detects a beginning of a transmission opportunityof the shared communication channel. During the idle times, UE 115 willalso monitor for the beginning of TxOP. When the TxOP is detected, UE115 may switch into an active mode in preparation to receive downlinkcommunications. As the signals are detected via antennas 252 a-r andwireless radios 2300 a-r, UE 115 executes, under control ofcontroller/processor 280, coding/decoding logic 2302 to decode thesignals. Coding/decoding logic 2302 may, thus, decode detected signalsand determine such signals correspond to the initial transmission from aserving base station. UE 115 may, thus, determine the beginning of theTxOP based on the decoded signals received.

At block 1002, the UE modifies the monitoring for the coreset in eachtransmission slot of the transmissions opportunity according to thetransmission opportunity slot timing. As noted above, during idle times,UE 115 will wake up to monitor for coreset information at each potentialtransmission unit. However, once a TxOP has begun, coreset informationwould be transmitted at the transmission slot boundaries. Therefore,when UE 115 detects the beginning of the TxOP in block 505, it may thenmodify Coreset monitoring function 2301 to modify the monitoring to eachcommunication slot (e.g., mini-slot or slot) of the TxOP.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Within thefloating slot based design for transmission starts, the potentialtransmission starts may begin at mini-slot intervals. While in an idlestate, UE 115 a may monitor for coreset transmissions 1101 from basestation 105 a every mini-slot 1100. As in the mini-slot design basedaspects, once UE 115 a detects the success of the LBT procedure at 1102,UE 115 a may reduce the monitoring frequency to each transmission slotboundary 1103. Once the TxOP ends and transmissions cease in slots 1 and2, UE 115 a may resume monitoring for coreset transmissions 1101 everymini-slot at 1103.

Aspects of the present disclosure configured using the floating slotbased design may be more transmitter friendly. For example a basestation, such as base station 105 a may prepare one packet and delay thetransmission of that packet until the LBT passes later. Because the TxOPbegins at the next transmission slot boundary after detecting the LBTpass, there is no need to prepare multiple packets that may be droppedas the LBT pass comes later within the shared channel. The resultingprocedure allows for simpler control logic in the basestation/scheduler. However, rate matching issues may arise as thedifferent transmission starting times may imply different sets of REs torate match around.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In a firstoption for rate matching, it may be beneficial not to pre-rate matchbefore the exact set of REs is known. For example, base station 105 awith data for downlink transmission to UE 115 a does not generate PDSCH1201 until after it determines available REs 1200 for the transmission.Using available REs 1200, base station 105 a may rate match PDSCH 1101around rate matching resources, such as synchronization signal block(SSB) 1202 and reserved REs 1203. Reserved REs 1203 may includeremaining minimum system information (RMSI) coreset, etc. Base station105 a may then transmit PDSCH 1201 to UE 115 a.

When the LBT pass is detected in the middle of a mini-slot, the ratematching may be performed while any filler or channelreservation/occupancy signals are transmitted. For the selected slotstart, base station 105 may figure out the available number of REs andsplit the REs to all code blocks. The TBS would not change and, thus,re-encoding would not be necessary. Base station 105 a will pick theright number of coded bits from the rate matching circular buffer ofeach CB to fill the number of REs. Alternatively, each RE's modulation(e.g., multiple spatial layers) can be performed ahead of time, with thepre-modulated REs being filled into the available REs when transmissiontiming is done. This way, the modulation is performed ahead of time andthe RE multiplexing, precoding, and time domain waveform generation maybe performed at transmission time.

It should be noted that in the case where a channel reservation signalmay not be available, and the PDSCH can happen in symbol 0 of atransmission slot (e.g. the REs outside coreset), aspects of the presentdisclosure may use a special default rate matching rule.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a base station 105 a and UE 115a configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In asecond option for rate matching, a puncturing-based design provides forpre-generating the REs and pre-filling into an OFDM symbol or a physicalRE structure. The precoding may also be pre-computed. Thus, with thedata for downlink transmission, base station 105 a pre-generates PDSCH1300 with the data. When slot transmission timing 1301 is known, and therate matching resources determined, base station 105 a may puncture theREs from the OFDM symbols of generated PDSCH, PDSCH 1300 to fill theother reserved signal resources to be transmitted, such as SSB 1202 andreserved REs 1303. The time domain waveform may then be formed of thepunctured PDSCH 1300 and transmitted to UE 115 a. On UE side, when UE115 a detects a PDCCH at a floating location from the starting location,UE 115 a determines this is a floating slot. UE 115 a can derive theoriginal system slot location by using the original system slotstructure to de-rate match and use the current location to find outwhich REs have been punctured in PDSCH 1300.

Re-generating PDCCH may also take considerable time. Therefore, aspectsof the present disclosure provide for pre-generating PDCCH 1305 anddelay the transmission until base station 105 a detects LIST pass 1306.Because of the floating transmission slot boundary, timing basedscrambling using the transmission slot boundary timing may not beeffective. In such aspects, base station 105 a may remove or restrictthe amount of timing based scrambling that is applied to PDCCH 1305. Forexample, base station 105 a may scramble PDCCH 1305 using thedemodulation reference signal (DMRS). In additional alternative aspects,a middle solution may be performed such that the scrambling valuechanges along the system slot boundary timing and not the transmissionslot boundary timing. Thus, UE 115 a may be able to determine thescrambling by use the system slot boundary timing.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Instead ofpre-generating PDSCH 1300 (FIG. 13) and then puncturing oncetransmission timing 1301 (FIG. 13) is determined, the aspects describedin FIG. 14 provide for base station 105 a to pre-generate PDSCH 1400 toalready include placeholder puncturings for any reserved signals, suchas SSB 1401 and reserved REs 1402. At the pre-generation stage, thelocations of SSB 1401 and reserved REs 1402 may not be exactly identicalto the actual locations that may be determined when transmission timing1403 is obtained. When base station 105 a is able to determine the exactlocations of the reserved signals using transmission timing 1403, basestation 105 a may shift the locations of the reserved signals within thepre-generated PDSCH 1400 to the exact locations of SSB 1404 and reservedREs 1405. Base station 105 a may then transmit PDSCH 1400 to UE 115 awith the locations for SSB 1404 and reserved REs 1405 punctured.However, the pre-generating of PDSCH 1400 with placeholders for thepuncturings allows base station 105 a to reduce the amount of data lostvia the puncturing.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are block diagrams illustrating base station 105 a andUE 115 a configured according to aspects of the present disclosure. Asnoted above, the pre-generated PDCCH, PDCCH 1305 (FIG. 13) ispre-generated before detecting the LBT pass and then transmitted afterLBT pass. Because PDCCH 1305 is pre-generated prior to knowing thetransmission timing, there may be occasions where PDCCH 1305 collideswith reserved REs, such as an SSB. The aspects illustrated in FIGS. 15Aand 15B provide optional procedures for addressing such signalcollision.

In a first option illustrated in FIG. 15A, base station 105 a configuresthe coreset transmissions 1500 at locations that will avoid collidingwith SSB 1502. In such aspects, the coreset transmissions 1500 areconfigured and will be transmitted at the configured locationsregardless of whether SSB 1502 is transmitted in the same mini-slot/slotor not.

In the second option illustrated in FIG. 15B, base station 105 a knowswhen the coreset transmission 1502 will collide with SSB 1503. When acollision will take place, base station may shift or rate match coresettransmissions 1502 around the location of SSB 1503. In one example, inmini-slot 1504, coreset transmissions 1502 may be transmitted at thefirst location in mini-slot 1504 for any transmissions that may occurwithin mini-slot 1504 and coreset transmissions 1502 may also betransmitted at the last location in mini-slot 1504 to accommodatetransmission in the next slot, where SSB 1503 would otherwise havecollided with coreset transmissions 1502 if it had been transmitted inthe next mini-slot. Thus, when base station 105 a determines there willbe a collision with SSB 1503, base station 105 a will move the locationof coreset transmissions 1502 to avoid the collision.

It should be noted that there may be circumstances in which SSB shouldnot float. The SSB can follow the system slot timing. From the UEperspective, UE 115 a may determine the system slot timing using theindication from the SSB. Under the aspects using a floating slot basedTxOP, for each TxOP, there is another “dynamic” slot timing concept, thetransmission slot boundary, that is independent of the system slotboundary and timing. Others of the RE sources, such as RMSI, broadcastOSI, and the like may be allowed to flow, in which base station 105 amay configure a window for UE 115 a to monitor for RMSI coresettransmissions.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed toimplement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks willalso be described with respect to UE 115 as illustrated in FIG. 23.

At block 1600, a non-served UE monitors for broadcast transmissionsbetween a base station and a served UE. Non-serving UEs, such as UE 115,are those not having a grant in the current TxOP, but which are radioresource control (RRC) configured to perform some reception/transmissionat certain time. With the slot boundary floating according to thepresently described aspect, defining the timing for these receptions andtransmissions may include further considerations. Such non-grant basedtransmission may include channel state information (CSI) referencesignals (CSI-RS) for CSI acquisition, sounding reference signals (SRS)transmissions, and the like. As the signals are detected via antennas252 a-r and wireless radios 2300 a-r, UE 115 executes, under control ofcontroller/processor 280, coding/decoding logic 2302 to decode thesignals. Coding/decoding logic 2302 may, thus, decode detected signalsand determine such signals correspond to the transmissions between abase station and another neighboring UE.

At block 1601, the non-served UE determines a slot boundary timing of atransmission opportunity determined using the broadcast transmissiondetected via the monitoring. Basically the non-serving UEs, UE 115,detect the timing for the slot boundary for all scheduled operationsbased on the decoded signals decoded through execution ofcoding/decoding logic 2302.

At block 1602, the non-served UE adjusts scheduled communications of thenon-served UE within the detected transmission opportunity of the basestation and the served UE. There is no grant for the non-serving UEs,such as UE 115. Therefore, a different signal or a broadcast layer 1(L1) channel may be used for the transmission. In a first option, ifavailable, a wideband DMRS may be used for the coreset transmission. Insuch case, no additional information is used. In a second option, adedicated L1 channel, such as group control (GC)-PDCCH carrying SFI, andcan piggy back other triggers in the L1 channel as well, such as SRStrigger, CSI-RS indication, PRACH trigger, SR trigger etc. Using thisinformation, UE 115 determines a transmission timing adjustment 2304which is used to adjust the transmission of the signals that thenon-served UE, UE 115, is scheduled for.

From the UE perspective, if there is only one UE in the uplink burst,the same ideas to use a floating slot design can be applied. This helpsUE 115 a process as well, as the PUSCH can be pre-generated by UE 115 a.In uplink transmissions, there is not much to rate match around, so therate matching can be pre-generated. If LBT passes later, thetransmission of the pre-generated PUSCH may just be delayed until theLBT passes. As noted above with regard to PDCCH, UE 115 a may avoidtiming dependent scrambling of the PUSCH as well. When there are morethan two UEs at issue, the two UEs with PUSCH, or multiple UEs with amix of SRS, PUCCH, and PUSCH may use a kind of synchronization acrossUEs, with a per UE LBT being insufficient to provide suchsynchronization.

An alternative implementation may include not floating the slot boundarywith respect to downlink, but to bundle with the downlink slot boundaryof the same TxOP, or with a base station-indicated timing offset. Whenthe LBT passes at a later time between mini-slot boundaries, puncturingmay be used to accommodate the transmission, similar as LTE-LAA/MFbehavior. Additional considerations for puncturing include how to handleDMRS and how the base station would know which symbols are punctured, asdetected from the start of the uplink burst.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a base station 105 a and UE 115a configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In thedescribed aspect, the first slot, DL slot 0 of TxOP 1700, ispre-prepared and floating after detecting LBT pass at 1701 andtransmitting the filler signaling, but in the middle of the downlinkburst burst, a few mini-slot grants are used for DL mini-slot 0 AT 1702to align the timing back to the system slot timing. Thus, the firstpre-prepared downlink slot is floating, while the others beginning atsystem slot boundary 1703, after the “corrective” DL mini-slot 0, arenot. Correcting to the system slot timing benefits downlinktransmissions due to the potential rate matching of SSB transmissions.The benefit is observed for a large portion of the burst, where thetiming is then aligned with the SSB timing. As a result, the procedurefor SSB rate matching would simply be used in the pre-prepared firstfloating slot, DL slot 0.

FIG. 18A is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed by abase station to implement one aspect of the present disclosure. Theexample blocks will also be described with respect to base station 105as illustrated in FIG. 22. An alternative to both the mini-slot basedand floating slot based designs for transmission starting points,various aspects of the present disclosure provide for a punctured slotbased design with code block group (CBG) level retransmission.

At 1800, a base station performs an LBT procedure on a sharedcommunication channel in response to an indication of data available fortransmission. As before, base station 105 will attempt to secure accessto the shared communication channel using an LBT procedure, initiated byexecution of LBT logic 2201, when it has data for transmission to one ormore of its served UEs.

At block 1801, the base station pre-prepares a transmission packet forthe data prior to detection of a success of the LBT procedure. In orderto begin transmitting the data as soon as possible, base station 105would pre-prepare the transmission packet based on the expected REs.Bbase station 105 executes, under control of controller/processor 240,packet generator 2202, stored in memory 242, to pre-prepare thetransmission packet after initiation of the LBT, but prior to detectingits success.

At block 1802, the base station punctures one or more CBGs of thetransmission packet corresponding to a timing of the detection of thesuccess after a slot boundary of a current transmission slot. NR systemsare configured for CBG-based retransmission support. As a result,transmissions may be more “puncture friendly,” as puncturing at the CBGlevel allows for a more granular ability to retransmit the puncturedCBGs. With the pre-prepared packet ready while base station 105 iswaiting to detect the result of the LBT procedure, as the timeprogresses beyond a point where a CBG of the pre-prepared packet wouldbe transmitted, base station 105 identifies that CBG for retransmissionwithin the execution environment of LBT logic 2201 and schedulesretransmission via Re-TX controller 2204, in memory 240. Base station105 executes packet generator 2202 to pre-prepare the pre-preparedpacket using only the remaining CBGs not identified for retransmission.The pre-prepared packet, therefore, does not simply drop the identifiedCBGs, but gathers the identified CBGs for retransmission. As such, whilethe process is described herein as “puncturing,” the it could bereferred to as modified puncturing, since the data of the CBGs is notsimply dropped.

At block 1803, the base station transmits the punctured transmissionpacket in response to the detection of the success. When base station105 detects the LBT pass, the remaining punctured transmission packet(without the CBGs identified for retransmission) is transmitted to theserved UE via wireless radios 2200 a-t and antennas 234 a-t.

At block 1804, the base station re-transmits the punctured CBGs and asignal identifying the punctured CBGs at a later transmission slot. Asbase station 105 identifies the CBGs to puncture from the pre-preparedtransmission slot, it may immediately begin re-transmission proceduresfor those identified CBGs via execution of Re-TX controller 2205. Insuch case, base station 105 can scheduled the re-transmission via Re-TXcontroller 2205 as soon as possible, including even in later slots ofthe same TxOP, and then retransmit the identified CBGs via wirelessradios 2200 a-t and antennas 234 a-t.

FIG. 18B is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed by a UEto implement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blockswill also be described with respect to UE 115 as illustrated in FIG. 23.

At block 1805, a UE detects a beginning of a transmission opportunity ofa shared communication channel by a serving base station. On the UE sideof the punctured slot based design with CBG retransmission, the UE willneed to stitch together the different CBGs in order to recover the wholetransport block (TB) from the base station. Accordingly, while in idlemode, the UE will monitor for the beginning of a TxOP over the sharedcommunication channel. As the signals are detected via antennas 252 a-rand wireless radios 2300 a-r, UE 115 executes, under control ofcontroller/processor 280, coding/decoding logic 2302 to decode thesignals. Coding/decoding logic 2302 may, thus, decode detected signalsand determine such signals correspond to the beginning of the TxOP.

At block 1806, the UE decodes a transmission packet received from theserving base station in a current transmission slot after the beginning.As UE 115 begins receiving data packets from the serving base station itwill decode the received packets via execution of coding/decoding 2302.

At block 1807, the UE determines one or more CBGs have been identifiedfor retransmitted by the serving base station. On decoding the firstpacket, UE 115 will determine that all of the CBGs for that packet werenot included in the transmission. UE 115 would then determine that someof the CBGs have been identified for retransmission. Re-TX controller2305 maintains the identified CBGs that have been identified forretransmission.

At block 1808, the UE decodes one or more re-transmission packetsincluding the one or more CBGs. UE 115 will receive the retransmissionpackets via antennas 252 a-r and wireless radios 2300 a-r that includethe “punctured” CBGs from the initial transmission packet. UE 115,within the execution environment of coding/decoding 2302, may alsodecode an identifier from the base station that identifies the CBGs asthe retransmitted CBGs from the initial packet.

At block 1809, the UE assembles a transport block using the decodedtransmission packet and the CBGs decoded in the re-transmission packets.UE 115 stores the CBGs of the initial packet in memory 282 and when theretransmitted CBGs are decoded along with the identifier, UE 115executes Tx block assembler 2306 to then assemble the CBGs to form thewhole transport block.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Basestation 105 a, having data to transmit to UE 115 a, performs and LBTprocedure and monitors for the result. Upon performing the LBTprocedure, base station 105 a also pre-prepares a transmission packetthat will be transmitted after any filler or channel reservationsignaling is completed. The pre-prepared packet may include data for aslot that covers four mini-slots. Base station 105 a fails to detect theLBT result in mini-slot 1901, but detects the LBT pass at 1903, in themiddle of the second mini-slot 1902. At 1903, base station 105 a wouldthen begin transmitting the filler signaling. As the boundaries ofmini-slots 1901 and 1902 are passed without detecting the LBT pass, basestation 105 a identifies the CBGs that would have been transmitted inmini-slots 1901 and 1902 for retransmission, thus, puncturing them fromthe originally pre-prepared transmission packet. Base station 105 a willthen send a partial packet, DL mini-slot 0 (partial), formed by“puncturing” the CBGs for slots 1901 and 1902 from the pre-preparedtransmission packet, at slot boundary 1904.

Base station 105 a knows which part of the pre-prepared transmissionpacket is punctured and can re-transmit the CBGs of the punctured part,possibly in the same TxOP, but a later slot. For example, base station105 a schedules the punctured CBGs to be retransmitted during the lastslot of the downlink burst, DL slot 3. In the retransmission, basestation 105 a also includes an indicator that indicates which CBGs areincluded in the retransmission. Thus, DL slot 3 would include anindicator to the UE that DL slot 3 includes the CBGs punctured from DLslot 0.

When providing the control signaling via PDCCH, re-generating the PDCCHafter determining which CBGs are punctured from the pre-generated PDSCHmay take considerable time from base station 105 a. Accordingly,additional and alternative aspects of the present disclosure maypre-generate PDCCH and delay the transmission by base station 105 auntil pass is detected at 1901, similar to the floating slot baseddesign. In such aspects, the PDCCH will not depend on when thetransmission happens, but will also not reflect which CBGs will bepunctured from the pre-generated PDSCH. However, UE 115 a can figure outfrom the starting location of the PDCCH within the transmission slotwhich CBGs may have been punctured.

On the UE side, UE 115 a will stitch together the data received duringthe first transmission, DL slot 0, and the retransmission of thepunctured CBGs in DL slot 3 to recover the whole TB. For uplinktransmissions from UE 115 a, as UE 115 a detects the LBT pass at 1905,any punctured CBGs from the transmission packet sent at slot boundary1906 in UL mini-slot 0 (partial), may not autonomously be scheduled forretransmission by UE 115 a. Instead, selected aspects provide for basestation 105 a to reschedule the punctured uplink CBGs for retransmissionby UE 115 a.

It should be noted that additional and alternative aspects of thepresent disclosure may provide for UE 115 a to autonomously rescheduleretransmission of the punctured CBGs from UL mini-slot 0. Both featuresassociated with the scheduling of retransmission of the punctured uplinkCBGs is within the scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a base station 105 a and a UE115 a configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure.Within the punctured slot based design for transmission starts, thepotential transmission starts may begin at mini-slot intervals. While inan idle state, UE 115 a may monitor for mini-slot coreset transmissions2000 from base station 105 a every mini-slot boundary, and slot coresettransmissions 2001 at each slot boundary. As in the mini-slot designbased aspects, once UE 115 a detects the success of the LBT procedure at2002, UE 115 a may reduce the monitoring frequency to each transmissionslot boundary, such as mini-slot transmission boundary 2003, and slottransmission boundaries 2004 and 2005.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 a and UE 115 aconfigured according to aspects of the present disclosure. Rate matchingmay be performed ahead of time for the slot and puncturing theresources. Some symbols not available due to late LBT pass would notinclude any coreset transmission, which carry the PDCCH, which would bedelayed to the transmitted portion of the slot. In one exampleimplementation of FIG. 21, base station 105 a pre-prepares thetransmission packet for pre-preparation slot 0 in pre-preparation stream2100. The transmission packet for pre-preparation slot 0 includesmini-slots 2101-2104. As the LBT procedure is delayed intopre-preparation slot 0, base station 105 a determine which data topuncture. In the presently described example, after detection of the LBTpass at 2106, base station 105 a will determine to puncture the earlierCBGs of mini-slots 2101 and 2102. Depending when 2106 occurs inmini-slot 2102, the puncturing may not always be along CBG boundaries,which may result in some inefficiency in retransmissions of an entireCBG when some parts of the code block remain and are transmitted. Thesurviving CBGs of partial slot 0 of transmission stream 2105 wouldmaintain the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS)/coding rate, asoriginally scheduled. The coreset that would have been transmitted ineither mini-slot 2101 or 2102, may then be shifted up to mini-slot 2103for transmission in partial slot 0 of transmission stream 2105.

It should be noted that if the remaining part of slot 0 of transmissionstream 2105 after puncturing has no DMRS, the partial slot 0 could notbe decoded. Accordingly, in a first optional aspect, transmission slotconfigurations may only be considered that include DMRS configurationsin the part of pre-preparation slot 0 of pre-preparation stream 2100. Inthe present example, configurations where DMRS is included in the laterportions of pre-preparation slot 0 so that when the puncturing ofpre-preparation slot 0 occurs, the remaining portions transmitted inpartial slot 0 would include DMRS. In a second optional aspect, basestation 105 a may simply add DMRS to the remaining portion of CGBsincluded in partial slot 0. DMRS may then be punctured into theremaining part of partial slot 0 as well as rate matching around SSB andother reserved REs, if such exist in the remaining part of partial slot0.

If base station 105 a transmits a PDCCH (self-scheduling), UE 115 a canuse the detected PDCCH location to determine the starting point of thepartial slot. Additional and alternative aspects of the presentdisclosure may also provide for a layer 1 (L1) channel that may be usedfor starting point detection. In carrier aggregation scenarios which usecross carrier scheduling (e.g., scheduling from a licensed anchorcarrier), there would be no PDCCH transmitted from base station 105 a onthe unlicensed shared communication carrier. In such systems, apre-emption indicator (PI) mechanism may be used to indicate to UE 115 awhat was punctured. The PI would be transmitted after the LBT outcome isknown, and, thus, the starting point would also be known. The PI can betransmitted in the licensed anchor carrier of the carrier aggregationfrom base station 105 b or the unlicensed shared carrier from basestation 105 a.

Where fast rate matching is possible, base station 105 a may firstestimate which CBGs of mini-slots 2101-2104 can be retransmitted in theremaining part of the transmission opportunity. A common rule for how todetermine which CBGs to retransmit may be used. In such case, therewould be no need to indicate which CBGs are transmitted in the firstslot and no need to change the PDCCH. The set of CBGs carried will beimplicitly implied by the PDCCH starting location. Base station 105 amay then rate match these CBGs into the available REs, while theremaining CBGs will be covered in later retransmissions. In order tomaintain the likelihood of success in decoding by UE 115 a, base station105 a may float the DMRS so that it would be included in thetransmission of partial slot 0 of transmission stream 2105.

An additional and alternative aspect of the present disclosure mayprovide for beginning the transmission, after detection of the LBT passat 2106, of partial slot 0 using the CBGs at the beginning ofpre-preparation slot 0 (e.g., mini-slots 2101 and 2102). Base station105 a may puncture the remaining CBGs of the later part ofpre-preparation slot 0 (e.g., mini-slots 2103 and 2104). When the earlyCBGs of pre-preparation slot 0 are used, the DMRS remains in thetransmitted portion of partial slot 0, and base station 105 a would notperform re-rate matching. Any potential collision with scheduled SSB maybe handled using puncturing as described previously.

On the uplink side, similar procedures may be performed by UE 115 a forpreparing and sending PUSCH. However, CBG-level retransmission would bescheduled by base station 105 a. Moreover, UE 115 a may use DMRS at thebeginning of PUSCH to provide for detection of the uplink burst startingpoint.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

The functional blocks and modules in FIGS. 4, 6, 8, 10, 16, 18A, and 18Bmay comprise processors, electronics devices, hardware devices,electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes,firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure. Skilled artisans will also readilyrecognize that the order or combination of components, methods, orinteractions that are described herein are merely examples and that thecomponents, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of thepresent disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than thoseillustrated and described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performedwith a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with thedisclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in auser terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.Computer-readable storage media may be any available media that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can compriseRAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that canbe used to carry or store desired program code means in the form ofinstructions or data structures and that can be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose orspecial-purpose processor. Also, a connection may be properly termed acomputer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmittedfrom a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable,fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL), thenthe coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or DSL, are includedin the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includescompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or,” when used ina list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items canbe employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listeditems can be employed. For example, if a composition is described ascontaining components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain Aalone; B alone; C alone; A and Bin combination; A and C in combination;B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as usedherein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of itemsprefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that,for example, a list of “at least one of B, or C” means A or B or C or ABor AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any of these in anycombination thereof.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited tothe examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:performing, by a base station, a listen before talk (LBT) procedure on ashared communication channel in response to an indication of dataavailable for transmission; pre-preparing, by the base station, atransmission packet for the data prior to detection of a success of theLBT procedure; puncturing, by the base station, one or more code blockgroups (CBGs) of the transmission packet corresponding to a timing ofthe detection of the success after a slot boundary of a currenttransmission slot; transmitting, by the base station, the puncturedtransmission packet in response to the detection of the success; andre-transmitting, by the base station, the one or more punctured CBGs anda signal identifying the one or more punctured CBGs at a latertransmission slot,
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the puncturingincludes: determining earlier CBGs of the transmission packet as the oneor more punctured CBGs; and identifying the earlier CBGs forre-transmission in a control channel signal, and wherein thetransmitting the punctured transmission packet is according to ascheduled coding rate of the pre-prepared transmission packet.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further including: providing, by the base station, ademodulation reference signal (DMRS) in the punctured transmissionpacket, wherein the DMRS is provided via one of: generating the DMRS ina later portion of the transmission packet as a part of thepre-preparing; or further puncturing the punctured transmission packetwith the DMRS.
 4. The method of claim 3, further including: ratematching, by the base station, the DMRS around one or more reservedresource elements (REs) in the current transmission slot.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the puncturing includes: determining the one or morepunctured CBGs from the transmission packet; rate matching one or moreremaining CBGs of the transmission packet to one or more availableresource elements (REs) of the current transmission slot; and generatinga demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in the punctured transmissionpacket.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the puncturing includes:determining later CBGs of the transmission packet as the one or morepunctured CBGs.
 7. The method of claim 6, further including: identifyingthe later CBGs for re-transmission in a control channel signal.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, further including: rate matching, by the basestation, the punctured transmission packet around one or more reservedresource elements (REs) in the current transmission slot.
 9. A method ofwireless communication, comprising: detecting, by a user equipment (UE),a beginning of a transmission opportunity of a shared communicationchannel by a serving base station; decoding, by the UE, a transmissionpacket received from the serving base station in a current transmissionslot after the beginning; determining, by the UE, one or more code blockgroups (CBGs) have been identified for retransmission by the servingbase station; decoding, by the UE, one or more re-transmission packetsincluding the one or more CBGs; and assembling, by the UE, a transportblock using the decoded transmission packet and the one or more CBGsdecoded in the one or more re-transmission packets.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further including: monitoring, by the UE, for a controlresource set (CORESET) in each of a plurality of mini-slots of theshared communication channel during idle transmission times;determining, by the UE, a transmission opportunity slot timing based onsignals received from the serving base station; and modifying themonitoring, by the UE, for the CORESET in each transmission slot of thetransmissions opportunity according to the transmission opportunity slottiming.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the one ormore CBGs have been retransmitted includes one of: determining the oneor more CBGs have been retransmitted based on a starting location ofcontrol channel signaling from the serving base station; determining theone or more CBGs have been retransmitted based on explicit signalingidentifying the one or more CBGs; determining the one or more CBGs havebeen retransmitted based on the starting location of a pre-emptionindicator received on behalf of an unlicensed carder of the sharedcommunication channel; or receiving an identification of the one or moreCBGs from the serving base station via a higher layer signal.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, further including: receiving, by the UE, an uplinkgrant from the serving base station for uplink transmission of data fromthe UE, wherein the uplink grant includes allocation of uplink resourceswithin the transmission opportunity; performing, by the UE, a listenbefore talk (LBT) procedure on the shared communication channel;preparing, by the UE, an uplink transmission packet with the data foruplink transmission; identifying, by the UE, one or more code blockgroups (CBGs) of the uplink transmission packet for re-transmissionbased on a timing of detection of a success of the LBT procedure after aslot boundary of a current transmission slot; and transmitting, by theUE, one or more remaining CBGs of the uplink transmission packet via theuplink resources in response to the detection of the success.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further including: receiving, by the UE, a nextuplink grant from the serving base station, wherein the next uplinkgrant includes allocation of next uplink resources for re-transmissionof the one or more CBGs identified for re-transmission; andre-transmitting, by the UE, the one or more CBGs via the next uplinkresources.
 14. An apparatus configured for wireless communication, theapparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a memory coupled tothe at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured: to perform, by a base station, a listen before talk (LBT)procedure on a shared communication channel in response to an indicationof data available for transmission; to pre-prepare, by the base station,a transmission packet for the data prior to detection of a success ofthe LBT procedure; to puncture, by the base station, one or more codeblock groups (CBGs) of the transmission packet corresponding to a timingof the detection of the success after a slot boundary of a currenttransmission slot; to transmit, by the base station, the puncturedtransmission packet in response to the detection of the success; and tore-transmit, by the base station, the one or more punctured CBGs and asignal identifying the one or more punctured CBGs at a latertransmission slot.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein theconfiguration of the at least one processor to puncture includesconfiguration of the at least one processor: to determine earlier CBGsof the transmission packet as the one or more punctured CBGs; and toidentify the earlier CBGs for retransmission in a control channelsignal, and wherein the configuration of the at least one processor totransmit the punctured transmission packet is according to a scheduledcoding rate of the pre-prepared transmission packet.
 16. The apparatusof claim 15, further including configuration of the at least oneprocessor to provide, by the base station, a demodulation referencesignal (DMRS) in the punctured transmission packet, wherein the DMRS isprovided via configuration of the at least one processor to one of:generate the DMRS in a later portion of the transmission packet as apart of the pre-preparing; or further puncture the puncturedtransmission packet with the DMRS.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,further including configuration of the at least one processor to ratematch, by the base station, the DMRS around one or more reservedresource elements (REs) in the current transmission slot.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the configuration of the at least oneprocessor to puncture includes configuration of the at least oneprocessor: to determine the one or more punctured CBGs from thetransmission packet; to rate match one or more remaining CBGs of thetransmission packet to one or more available resource elements (REs) ofthe current transmission slot; and to generate a demodulation referencesignal (DMRS) in the punctured transmission packet.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the configuration of the at least one processor topuncture includes configuration of the at least one processor todetermine later CBGs of the transmission packet as the one or morepunctured CBGs.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, further includingconfiguration of the at least one processor to identify the later CBGsfor re-transmission in a control channel signal.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 19, further including configuration of the at least one processorto rate match, by the base station, the punctured transmission packetaround one or more reserved resource elements (REs) in the currenttransmission slot.
 22. An apparatus configured for wirelesscommunication, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and amemory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured: to detect, by a user equipment (UE), abeginning of a transmission opportunity of a shared communicationchannel by a serving base station; to decode, by the UE, a transmissionpacket received from the serving base station in a current transmissionslot after the beginning; to determine, by the UE, one or more codeblock groups (CBGs) have been identified for retransmission by theserving base station; to decode, by the UE, one or more re-transmissionpackets including the one or more CBGs; and to assemble, by the UE, atransport block using the decoded transmission packet and the one ormore CBGs decoded in the one or more re-transmission packets.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 22, further including configuration of the at leastone processor: to monitor, by the UE, for a control resource set(CORESET) in each of a plurality of mini-slots of the sharedcommunication channel during idle transmission times; to determine, bythe UE, a transmission opportunity slot timing based on signals receivedfrom the serving base station; and to modify execution of theconfiguration of the at least one processor to monitor, by the UE, forthe CORES ET in each transmission slot of the transmissions opportunityaccording to the transmission opportunity slot timing.
 24. The apparatusof claim 22, wherein the configuration of the at least one processor todetermine the one or more CBGs have been retransmitted includesconfiguration of the at least one processor to one of: determine the oneor more CBGs have been retransmitted based on a starting location ofcontrol channel signaling from the serving base station; determine theone or more CBGs have been retransmitted based on explicit signalingidentifying the one or more CBGs; determine the one or more CBGs havebeen retransmitted based on the starting location of a pre-emptionindicator received on behalf of an unlicensed carrier of the sharedcommunication channel; or receive an identification of the one or moreCBGs from the serving base station via a higher layer signal.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 22, further including configuration of the at leastone processor: to receive, by the UE, an uplink grant from the servingbase station for uplink transmission of data from the UE, wherein theuplink grant includes allocation of uplink resources within thetransmission opportunity; to perform, by the UE, a listen before talk(LBT) procedure on the shared communication channel; to prepare, by theUE, an uplink transmission packet with the data for uplink transmission;to identify, by the UE, one or more code block groups (CBGs) of theuplink transmission packet for re-transmission based on a timing ofdetection of a success of the LBT procedure after a slot boundary of acurrent transmission slot; and to transmit, by the UE, one or moreremaining CBGs of the uplink transmission packet via the uplinkresources in response to the detection of the success.
 26. The apparatusof claim 25, further including configuration of the at least oneprocessor: to receive, by the UE, a next uplink grant from the servingbase station, wherein the next uplink grant includes allocation of nextuplink resources for re-transmission of the one or more CBGs identifiedfor re-transmission; and to re-transmit, by the UE, the one or more CBGsvia the next uplink resources.